Siemens Competition

The Siemens Competition is a science competition funded by the Siemens Foundation, which was administered by the College Board until January 2014. ^[1]

Eligibility requirements

The Siemens Competition is open to high school students who are citizens or permanent residents of the US. Students must be in good standing and attend a 1) high school in a U.S. state, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake and Midway Islands, or the Marianas, or 2) DoDEA school, or overseas American or International school, or 3) Foreign school as an exchange student or because your parent or guardian lives and works abroad, or 4) Homeschool/HBI. Students submitting an individual project must be enrolled in, and attending their last year of high school. Team projects may have two or three members and must be enrolled in and attending high school (9th through 12th grade).

History

Siemens AG purchased Westinghouse Electric Corporation's power generation unit in 1997, but sponsorship of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Intel Science Talent Search) was not part of the deal. When Siemens lost the bidding for the competition to Intel, Siemens decided to create the Siemens Foundation to continue the tradition using the well-known Westinghouse name, calling the new competition the Siemens Westinghouse Competition (SWC) and, later, the Siemens Competition. The first awards were given in 1999.^[2]

The competition has the same goals as the old Westinghouse Competition, but there are several added dimensions, most notably awards for team projects and regional awards. The regional finals are held in cooperation with six partner universities: MIT, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Texas at Austin, the University of Notre Dame, and Carnegie Mellon.^[3]

2007 was the first year that women won the top prizes in both the individual and team competitions at Siemens. The individual winner was Isha Jain of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the top team winners were Janelle Schlossberger and Amanda Marinoff of Plainview, New York.^[4]

Selection process

Each year, research reports submitted before an early-October deadline are subjected to a blind reading. 300 outstanding research reports, from more than 1600 entries, are selected as semifinalists. All semifinalists receive a special recognition package, with their names announced in a full page USA Today advertisement. ^[5]

From the pool of semifinalists, 30 individuals and 30 teams (2-3 students) are selected as Regional Finalists and are invited to compete during the month of November at one of the six partner universities (Caltech, UT Austin, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and Ga. Tech). In addition to project content, judging is also be based on the oral presentation, poster display, cited references, and the question and answer session. All regional finalists receive $1,000 scholarships and bronze medals. One individual and one team from each region advances to the National Finals. These Regional winners receive $3,000 (individual) or $6,000 (total for teams) scholarships, and silver medals.

The National Finalists (6 individual and 6 team projects) receive an all-expense paid trip during the first weekend of December to Washington, DC. Winners of the Nationals receive scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the coveted $100,000 grand prize for the top individual and top team.^[6]

High Schools with the Most Winners

Since the creation of the Siemens Competition in 1999, a few schools have been consistently successful in producing Regional and National Finalists. By far the most Finalists have come from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and many Finalists have also come from Troy High School, Oak Ridge High School, and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. These are the only four schools to have produced Regional Finalists in more than 10 of the first 15 years of the Siemens Competition.^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

Siemens Foundation

Funding for the Competition is provided by the Siemens Foundation, the non-profit wing of Siemens AG. Established in 1998, the Iselin, New Jersey based Siemens Foundation provides nearly $7 million in scholarships and awards annually. Its signature programs are the Siemens Competition, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, and the newest program, The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens’ U.S. operating companies and its parent company, Siemens AG.^[12]

References

Wikinews has related news: Girls sweep Siemens science competition for US high schools

External links

• Siemens Foundation Website